Challah

Braiding is the fun lesson here, and a three-strand braid is no harder than braiding hair. Challah is the soft, eggy bread traditionally baked on Fridays for Shabbat dinner, and a typical recipe sweetens it with honey and enriches it with eggs and oil. Rolling even strands teaches you to handle dough without tearing it and to judge thickness by feel, both useful when you later pre-shape sourdough. Laying the strands nearly but not quite touching before you braid also gets you thinking about how dough grows as it rises. A glossy egg-wash finish makes it the loaf most likely to impress at the table.